Creates a shellfish hatchery program established by the department of environmental management to foster sustainable development and resiliency of the state's shellfish industry.
Impact
The program is to be managed by a nonprofit organization selected through a bidding process, promoting collaboration between governmental and private sectors in achieving public benefits within the shellfish industry. The hatchery will have a significant production capacity, set at 500 million shellfish annually, aimed to replenish decreasing wild stocks and support sustainable fishing practices. By establishing a restricted receipt account, the program intends to secure funding for its operational needs over a ten-year period, ensuring long-term sustainability.
Summary
Bill S0643 aims to establish a shellfish hatchery program within the Department of Environmental Management to enhance the sustainability and resilience of Rhode Island's shellfish industry. This initiative is designed to foster the development of a critical sector of the state's economy by increasing the production of shellfish species including quahogs, clams, scallops, and oysters. The bill emphasizes the necessity of a structured approach to manage and nurture shellfish populations, which have historically been vital to local fisheries and economies.
Contention
One potential point of contention is the funding mechanism for the hatchery program, which includes a fee per shellfish piece sold by licensed dealers to sustain the initiative. This fee, which is expected to be implemented three years after the first year's production, may impose additional financial burdens on local shellfish dealers. Additionally, the proposal to monitor nitrogen levels in shellfish harvest areas to maintain ecological balance aligns with state environmental objectives but might also introduce regulatory challenges for shellfish harvesters. Overall, the bill appears aimed at balancing economic interests with environmental sustainability.
Requires the chief resilience officer (CRO) and a resiliency office within the department of environmental management (DEM) be charged with the creation, maintenance and updating of the state's resiliency and community recovery program.
Establishes the Rhode Island lake management program within the department of environmental management to aid with lake and pond management issues relating to the control of aquatic invasive plants.
Establishes the Rhode Island lake management program within the department of environmental management to aid with lake and pond management issues relating to the control of aquatic invasive plants.
Establishes an agricultural restricted receipt account within the department of environmental management. An advisory committee would be established to determine suggested uses of the funds in said account.
Requires the chief resilience officer (CRO) be charged with creation/maintenance/updating of the state's resiliency/recovery program along with climate change resiliency plan with ocean/riverine coasts resilience advisory board.
JOINT RESOLUTION MAKING AN APPROPRIATION OF $2,300,000 TO THE RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT (DEM) TO TRANSPLANT QUAHOGS INTO NARRAGNSETT BAY AND ESTABLISH A SHELLFISH HATCHERY PROGRAM (Authorizes the appropriation of the sum of $2,300,000 to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management for the transplantation of quahogs and the establishment of a shellfish hatchery program.)